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Agartala, Oct 25 (IANS) Acting on the directions of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), more than 400 personnel of the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) will be deployed to help maintain security during the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, officials said here on Saturday.
A senior Tripura Home Department official said more than 400 TSR personnel led by Commandant Jyotishman Daschaudhuri left for Bihar on Friday night in a special train and are expected to reach Patna by Sunday night or Monday morning.
Five assistant commandants have also accompanied the TSR personnel.
“After reaching Patna, the Election Commission will, in consultation with the nodal security officers, decide on the deployment of TSR in any district in the state. The TSR personnel will provide security during both the phases of Bihar assembly elections,” the official told IANS.
The important Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases, covering all 243 constituencies of the state. The first phase of voting will be held on November 6 for 121 constituencies, while the second phase of voting will cover the remaining 122 constituencies on November 11.
Tripura’s elite force, TSR, has already earned wide praise for providing security during elections and other major events in several states of the country.
The TSR currently has 14 battalions, most of which are India Reserve (IR) battalions that can be deployed to any state if required by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
A few months ago, the Home Ministry had sanctioned another TSR battalion for the state. Two TSR battalions with around 2,000 personnel, including officers, have been deployed in the national capital under Delhi Police since 2019 and in the South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) area in Chhattisgarh since 2022.
Apart from deployment in Delhi and Chhattisgarh, a TSR battalion is providing dedicated security to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) drilling sites in Tripura.
During the Lok Sabha elections held between April 19 and June 1 last year, TSR personnel were deployed for polling duties in Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh.
Apart from providing security during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the India Reserve Battalion of the TSR has previously performed election duties to ensure smooth and peaceful assembly and Lok Sabha elections in almost all the states.
Trained in counter-insurgency operations, TSR jawans have performed exceptionally well in Tripura and have successfully curbed the four-decade-old insurgency in the north-eastern state. In view of the growing insurgency in Tripura during the 1980s, the TSR force was formed on the lines of the Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF).
Subsequently, the Tripura Assembly passed the Tripura State Rifles Act, 1983.
The official said the role of TSR in tackling and controlling insurgency in Tripura without any human rights violations has been widely appreciated.
The professionalism and high standards of the force have been recognized on several occasions at the national level. The force, known for its operational adaptability and expertise in terrain mapping, has made a significant contribution in conducting elections in sensitive areas across the country, the official said.
–IANS
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